Did you know?

Only a handful of countries even have such a concept as an all-way STOP. Even in countries that do, such as Ireland and South Africa, their usage is much less extensive than in Canada or the United States.

Reason #1: Forced unnatural traffic flow

A larger road has priority over a smaller road, and turning left requires giving way to oncoming traffic. Yet, on this type of intersection, there is absolutely no coherence regarding basic priority rules. For example, on a multi-lane road, everyone has to stop and patiently wait for the one car to exit out of Walmart, slowing everyone down.

Reason #2: Often redundant and pointless

A passive traffic instrument has to be able to function as intended at all times. The all-way STOP does not do this. They are often placed in low-traffic residential areas, where there is virtually no traffic. At night, it becomes a burden that slows down everyone for absolutely no reason.

Reason #3: Creates congestion and pollution

It takes a lot of energy to both come to a complete stop, and to accelerate from zero. This translates to wearing of brakes, which contribute to increased aging of vehicles, and higher fuel consumption, resulting in further emissions. Additionally, the design inherently causes congestion, resulting in noisy, dirty, and dangerous neighbourhoods.

Reason #4: Dangerous for pedestrians and hostile towards cyclists

All-way STOP signs are mostly designed for cars, and thus do not function as intended with other road users. The poor mechanics create tunnel vision for drivers, making it easy to miss smaller objects, increasing the chance for an accident. Cyclists who do not fully stop, which wastes precious energy, are sometimes fined or threatened with fines.

Reason #5: Encourages disobedience of traffic laws

The only word written on a STOP sign is pretty clear on what must be done. However, in addition, the full stop must happen behind the white line. If either is not done, it is an infraction. With the line often being too far back, reducing visibility, and the frequency of STOP signs, this makes every single person a law-breaker at some point.

Option #1: Standard intersection

The absolute basic intersection design is extremely widespread around the world as well as in North America outside of cities, and often even within. One direction has full priority, the other has to stop if necessary and yield to all traffic. Very effective in lower-traffic areas, and adequately safe with proper signage, visibility, and road design.

Option #2: Roundabout

There's a good reason why roundabouts have become extremely popular in the last thirty years. It is among the safest intersections, allows for a very high flow of traffic, as well as equality for all directions. In addition, their large size makes it convenient for trucks and other large vehicles, including for safe U-turns.

Option #3: Mini roundabout

Functionally mostly the same as a regular-sized roundabout. This option, however, is very compact and almost any street can be adapted to accommodate it, even in built-up areas with little land to spare. It lacks a traffic island, which allows large vehicles to go through in a necessity. Essentially, it's everything a STOP sign ever dreamed of being able to do!

Option #4: Unmarked intersection

It may be very difficult to believe, but drivers typically have a brain. Some intersections are too underused to even need any signalization at all. Standard priority to the right rules apply here, or common sense in practice. Although it's far from the safest setup, it still has its merits.

Method #1: Pedestrian crossings

Standard pedestrian crossings are extremely common worldwide, but here are often damaged with needless STOP signs. Pedestrians always have priority, and when drivers are used to this, they become perfectly safe. Crossings need to be placed very frequently, to allow pedestrians to cross without jaywalking or detouring to the nearest intersection.

Method #2: Narrower roads

While wider roads make travel safer for larger vehicles, they also increase the natural speed of the road, something that is not desirable in residential areas. With practice, drivers can be trained to easily handle narrower roads. The extra room can then be used to create parking spots, bike lines, or wider sidewalks, improving the experience for everyone!

Method #3: Traffic calming

Obstacles to avoid, narrowings, and speed bumps, when not overused, all contribute to slowing down traffic without the aggressiveness of STOP signs. They can even be combined with pedestrian crossings and other intersections to make them much safer.

Method #4: Better arterials

Ultimately, the key to safety is to reduce traffic as much as possible, by redirecting it to roads outside residential areas. Poor, cramped design leads to congestion and increases danger significantly. Making arterials more efficient by reducing unnecessary lanes and removing controlled intersections will make people less likely to try to detour through residential streets.

Did you know?

In most countries, standard intersections with two-way priority use YIELD signs, not STOP signs! In a few countries, such as Australia and France, STOP signs are only placed on particularly dangerous intersections, while in others, such as the United Kingdom or the Netherlands, are virtually unknown except in exceptional cases!

When a STOP sign is placed in this way, drivers are still required to individually come to a complete stop behind the line, increasing congestion and pollution. When they are overused and placed liberally, drivers begin to treat them as YIELD signs, preventing their intended usage on intersections where it is genuinely necessary.

In contrast, a YIELD sign is an extremely simple traffic control device with a single, basic rule: give way to all traffic. There is no need to stop if there is no traffic, and in any case drivers can pull into the intersection to see better. If safety is in question, traffic calming and adequate signage can be used to remedy this easily.

Problem #1: Fallback

What happens when a traffic light is disabled or defective? It turns into an all-way STOP. You already know now how bad they are, so what's the alternative? A standard intersection, of course. The more important direction has priority, while the less busy one has a YIELD sign to indicate lessened priority.

Problem #2: Excessive usage

A traffic light is often placed at virtually any intersection that has even a moderate amount of traffic. This means they are found back-to-back on busy roads, even at crossings with minor streets and alleys or in residential areas. Any traffic light that isn't absolutely necessary should be removed and replaced by a passive solution.

Problem #3: Permanently active

In some places, traffic lights are turned off when the traffic level is insufficient to justify them. For example, during nighttime, when the roads are virtually deserted, traffic lights could be disabled to operate as standard intersections, making traffic much more efficient. They could even be turned off completely to reduce light pollution.

Problem #4: Convenience over safety

When traffic lights are extremely common, compromises are often made to reduce costs and land usage and increase comfort. For example, this involves forfeiting protected left turn lanes, or right turn ramps in favour of inadequate right-on-red. Making better traffic light intersections in general will improve both traffic flow and safety for everyone.

Did you know?

In most countries, the concept of a school bus is completely foreign, as it is customary for children to walk to school. In rare cases where school transportation is a genuine necessity, the idea of everyone stopping behind or in front of the bus until it is unloaded is completely non-existent outside Canada and the United States.

Normally, when a school bus has its door open, passing is strictly prohibited, and even oncoming traffic cannot cross it, significantly disturbing the flow of traffic. Occasionally, a driver may leave the door open for a significant time, resulting in a complete halt of traffic. The disproportionately high fines associated with disobedience make this a political and social issue as well.

Aside from improving road safety in all the points I've mentioned previously, replacing the requirement to stop with simply slowing down to a safe enough speed is a good alternative. The flashing lights will still entice drivers to be careful, and the slow speed makes sure that stopping in an emergency is trivial. This already exists in Australia and New Zealand and there were never any problems.